As the New Year approached, the village grew even livelier.
Those who had gone out to work had all returned. With the harvest in, every household was idle, sitting at the village entrance chatting every day.
Even a dog passing by the entrance would be talked about.
Quite a few people from the village went out to work each year.
Like Liu Dongdong.
It was said that her mother had previously promised her older sister to an old man, but the other party looked down on her sister being a widow, so they wanted Liu Dongdong to marry him instead.
Yet, somehow, her money-grubbing mother had actually called off the engagement.
Coincidentally, that old man was from their very own village, so everyone found the broken engagement a bit strange.
Lin Family Village and Xingfu Village weren't far apart; to go back, one had to pass by the entrance of Xingfu Village.
When Liu Dongdong returned, dressed smartly and carrying large and small bags, everyone was immediately astonished.
"Isn't that the girl the Liu family promised to Old Man Xu? Liu Dongdong, I remember?"
"Yes, her mother even took the betrothal gifts. Don't know why it was called off."
"Isn't the Liu family very poor? She's dressed so finely and carrying so much stuff. Has she struck it rich?"
Seeing these people pointing and whispering about her, Liu Dongdong knew it was because of that incident.
Her expression darkened for a moment.
Liu Dongdong hadn't expected to be so unlucky. Originally, she had tried to guide Si Nian to sabotage Lin Sisi and Fu Yang's wedding. Who would have thought she'd be tricked into revealing information by Si Nian? Lin Sisi was arrested, nearly getting Liu Dongdong herself kicked out.
Fortunately, Lin Sisi was foolish. Wanting to keep an eye on Fu Yang, afraid he might find another woman, she was willing to let Liu Dongdong stay. So, Lin Sisi took all the blame herself.
The Si family, also worried about Lin Sisi's situation and that other women might snatch Fu Yang away, kept Liu Dongdong on to help watch things.
That's how Liu Dongdong managed to stay.
She was more sensible than Lin Sisi. Although her academic performance wasn't as good, Liu Dongdong was diligent, obedient, sensible, and could even cook.
Because of Lin Sisi's troubles, the Si couple had been running around tirelessly, looking as if they had aged over a decade.
If it weren't for Liu Dongdong, they might not even have had a hot meal to come home to.
With their daughter having just returned home not long ago and then getting into trouble, the couple was deeply distressed. Liu Dongdong's companionship provided them some small comfort.
Now, they regarded her almost as half a daughter.
So Liu Dongdong felt she had finally weathered the storm and come out on top.
Now, she didn't care what these people said. Her life was already on a different track from theirs.
These people weren't even worth her wasting time on.
It was just that woman, Si Nian, whom Liu Dongdong felt genuine fear towards.
Fu Yang claimed he didn't like either of them, but after interacting with him, Liu Dongdong realized Fu Yang did have feelings for Si Nian in his heart.
For instance, he would drink a few more mouthfuls of the soup she learned to make, the kind Si Nian used to bring him. Or, when she styled herself like Si Nian, he would stare at her a little longer...
Si Nian had just brought a lunchbox to the pig farm to deliver food to Zhou Yueshen when she sneezed twice in a row.
The weather was cold, the biting wind whipping painfully against her face.
She wore a down jacket and a hat, yet even so, she was freezing.
Because the New Year was near, the market demand for pigs had increased.
Families from all the surrounding villages who raised pigs were rushing to the farm to have their pigs slaughtered.
The squealing of pigs echoed from day to night, and from night to day.
Zhou Yueshen hadn't returned home for several nights, resting at the pig farm.
Usually, when they were idle and hungry, they would just whip up something simple here themselves, or family members would deliver food.
But now there was no time, so Si Nian came to deliver meals twice a day.
Sometimes the older and younger kids came, sometimes she did.
The food cooled quickly in the cold, so she had bought a thermal lunchbox in advance.
As soon as she entered the farm, she heard the distant sound of pigs squealing.
Walking over, she saw a pig from a neighboring village being slaughtered, with many families gathered around dividing the meat.
Si Nian scanned the area but didn't see Zhou Yueshen, so she headed towards the office.
Sure enough, the door was open.
She went in, but no one was inside.
Si Nian was a bit puzzled. The office wasn't large; it had a small stove inside, making it quite warm.
On the table nearby were paper and a pen, as if someone had been writing something and was called away to work mid-task.
Si Nian walked over and sat down, looking at the man's handwriting.
Although she hadn't heard whether Zhou Yueshen had attended school, his writing was sharp, vigorous, and powerful.
It suited his character perfectly.
He was recording various data and order forms.
Few people in the village had much education, so Zhou Yueshen handled all this himself.
After finishing work each day, he still had to fill out forms, and there were many more piled below.
Working at this pace, who knew how long it would be before he could rest.
While others were off for the New Year holiday, he was even busier.
Si Nian picked up the notebook to look. Plop. Something fell from between the notebook pages onto her lap.
Si Nian paused, looking down. It was a thin letter.
She picked it up with her fingertips and glanced at it.
The signature read — Yujie.
Si Nian: "..."
This person again?
She had learned about this woman from Zhou Yueshen but hadn't made much of it.
But according to what Zhou Yueshen said, he had left the army years ago. Was Yang Yujie still sending him letters?
How remarkably devoted.
Sitting on the stool, Si Nian carefully pondered this name and Zhou Yueshen's future.
Yet she realized that although she had read this novel, it contained almost no information about Zhou Yueshen and this woman named Yang Yujie.
They weren't the main characters, so not much was written about them. After the original cannon-fodder wife died, he was basically not written about anymore.
Later, the deaths of the children were just mentioned in passing with a few sentences.
So, for a moment, Si Nian truly didn't know whether Zhou Yueshen's future involved being with another woman or not.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice someone entering.
"Who is this?" Hearing the voice, Si Nian snapped back to reality. She saw Zhou Yueshen followed by several men of similar age, all with an air of distinction about them.
They were all looking at her, both surprised and puzzled.
The atmosphere seemed somewhat serious, as if something important was happening.
Si Nian quickly stood up, putting the letter back. "I came to bring you food. If you're very busy, I'll head back first. Remember to eat."
She thought they were Zhou Yueshen's business partners. It wasn't a good time to ask about the letter now, so she nodded to the group as a greeting.
She turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Zhou Yueshen quickly took a few steps forward and grabbed her.
For a moment, Si Nian was taken aback, frozen in surprise. The man behind her suddenly pulled her around and embraced her.
Si Nian was stunned, unable to react for a long moment.
What was going on? So many people were watching. Although the man was affectionate in private, he had never been so unrestrained in front of outsiders before.
Noticing the gazes from those around, her face flushed.
She hurriedly pushed against Zhou Yueshen.
But then she heard his rapid breathing and his deep, heavy voice: "Nian Nian, I can explain about that letter."
Si Nian: "..."
_What's been going on these past few days? Readers are dropping like flies.
